Disabled persons must often resort to manual assistance in transferring from a bed to a wheelchair and vice versa. Likewise, washing, dressing, and toilet activities can often require assistance in movement. Even chronically bedridden individuals require lifting to relieve pressure points and avoid sores or to permit physical therapy.
Lifts of various kinds, mechanical and motorized, have been employed in the past to assist disabled persons. Modern lifts typically take the form of hoists with belts or a seat. The support for the belts or seat is typically a single cable served by a hoist mechanism, e.g., a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder.
There exists a need for better devices for use in institutions, homes, and hospital settings to assist disabled persons. Devices which are portable or easily assembled and which operate smoothly and safely would satisfy long-felt needs.